Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      Part of a map series that never got finished, explore the ruins of the Sven Co-op forums and fight zombies cosplaying as server errors. I'm guessing we're in the back end of the server because the map looks pretty bleak and sciency. SCMapDB page Author: JPolito Date of release: 2019 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Abandoned Control Room (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 13, 2026 | 4064 characters      The map description is about us players escaping the dead Sven Co-op forums, which is ironic because this is part of a cancelled map that was recovered by somebody and then edited to be playable by somebody else. Just like the forums, the map itself is resurrected for our amusement.      The map itself reads like some sort of subway control room, I feel like I've seen this in a Resident Evil game. There is a room with a massive cracked TV screen that is really fun. There are lots of computer panels around and the mo...

      This is absolutely the Umbrella from the Resident Evil franchise, if there was any doubt. Umbrella seems to have abandoned their fancy mansion labs and decided a series of boxy rooms connected by hallways is the way to go. SCMapDB page Author: Nymph Date of release: 2023 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Umbrella (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 27, 2026 | 2754 characters      Yes, this map is a Resident Evil themed map. Or as themed to Resident Evil as a sterile laboratory can be. The whole map is a collection of rooms and hallways painted in metallic textures. Large Umbrella corporation logos decorate walls, ceilings, and above certain doors.      The map starts us off in an elevator, a big metal box. We open the Umbrella themed double doors to a metal room and fight some zombies with a lot of health. The room is filled with great weapons and now we are equipped to repeat that exact scenario many many times un...

       Welcome to Cardopoc- Carpacad- Carpocu- to this map, which is mostly Black Mesa themed. There's some story about this map being made specifically for one person then somehow finding its way into the internet's consciousness and then getting unceremoniously dumped in Sven because Sven needs more chaff I guess. SCMapDB page Original map author: jarS Conversion author: Aw3s0me Date of original mod release: 2025 Date of final Sven Map release: 2026 Maps in package: 4 Map review of Carpodacus Carnage (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 27, 2026 | 4490 characters      Before I get into the review I think it's necessary to look at the map description and see that this is a singleplayer map somebody found and then ported to Sven Co-op. Apparently this was made in a weekend for the author's dad, awwww.      The map definitely seems like it was largely just dumped into Sven and left to fend for itself. Survival mode i...

      Welcome to Space, the second one. According to the map description this is part of a larger planned series and would have been lost to time if a certain user didn't save it. It's a kind of NASA flavored space, far more realistic than your Star Treks or whatever. SCMapDB page Author: Richman Date of release: 2009 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Space2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 26, 2026 | 3420 characters      This is a map about soldiers invading a space station. This space station is more grounded in reality, resembling the current NASA aesthetic instead something more over the top. There are quite a few xen aliens in big glass tubes though.      The map looks really good. There are a lot of areas where players can look out the windows and see parts of the station. There is a big space shuttle and a fun planet Earth skybox to look at. The interiors are done really well with lots of fun space station text...

      Rats maps are really fun and such a simple concept, make a really big room and let players explore it. Of course, if players are going to explore then they need some way to travel to the extreme heights in such a map. SCMapDB page Author: HarroSIN Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Sin's Room (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 26, 2026 | 2422 characters      I love rats maps. Being a small terror in a big world is just really funny to me. So I went into this map expecting fun, even if the screenshots looked sparse.      This map suffers from one big problem, players can't go where they need to go. There is a lot of furniture and the tops of them are all good places to be. Players are given a barnacle but besides the enemies and players on the map, there is nothing to grapple. So the map quickly devolved into either myself or my partner spawning in a place we both wanted to be and then the othe...

      An official map back in the days of Sven Co-op 3.0 (or at least I think that's the right version) when things were simpler. Fight through a lot of enemies in a snowy complex and try not to get lost. SCMapDB page Author: Mako Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Mako (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | August 15, 2026 | 2827 characters      Mako is a fun little map where players fight human grunts and aliens, both xen and race x, through a city until we get to a grocery store and end the level in the sewers. The map description says we're taking advantage of some chaos to steal from a corporation, so I guess the corporation was the grocery store?      So we start off in a city street fighting some aliens and we encounter a laser wall. We try a bunch of doors that are around and none of them open, so we walk through the laser wall and take a tone of damage and turn off the lasers from the other side. Was tha...

     This is a map so nice players have to transition to it thrice! But seriously, this map has a hub map with smaller maps and players transition between them a lot.  SCMapDB page Original map author: Dr. T. Conversion author: Mikk Date of original mod release: 2015 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 5 Map review of Pagoda (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | August 15, 2026 | 4087 characters      I've played this map before and stopped when I discovered that it used a hub map and when we solved a puzzle we would go back to the same map and watch the enemies respawn and attack each other. The map has been updated by the community since then and while it still does the same thing the enemies don't respawn like they did, so that's an improvement. I recommend playing v3.      The map is a conversion of a singleplayer map and with the hub map it doesn't quite fit into Sven Co-op smoothly. We start off in a tra...

      Run a simple errand of picking up some beer from the corner store, except the neighborhood is empty and a little spooky. Explore the hood, unlock new areas and weapons, fight some ne'r-do-wells, and then go back to sleep I guess. SCMapDB page Author: Hedgy Date of release: 2023 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Quiet Neighborhood (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 20, 2026 | 4854 characters      From the name of the map I thought it would be a relaxed and chill time. But it's really more like a zombie infested Postal, we have to pick up beer in a hostile town. At first the streets are empty but once we pick up weapons we get swamped by zombies. Once we get the beer the zombies stop being a problem and then we party.      We start off in a square hedge room with a button that votes to start the map. Once we start the map we are in an apartment so small it was a bit hard to move around with my one teammate in the same sp...

      You may already know that Sven Co-op is a Half-Life mod which was made on a modified Quake engine. So Quake is already in Half-Life's digital DNA. This is a port of Quake into Sven Co-op and it fits like a glove. SCMapDB page Author: fgsfdsfgs Date of release: 2020 Maps in package: 12 Map review of Quake for Sven Co-op (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | June 14, 2026 | 3653 characters      This is a straight port of Quake right into Sven Co-op. It makes sense, goldsrc is just a modified Quake engine and a lot of the file formats Half-Life and Quake use are shared. The real beauty of this conversion is the enemies and weapons, which feel just like the original quake.      We start off our experience in the starting room of Quake, a room with three corridors with our options, exit Quake, start campaign, or start the deathmatch. Going down the exit Quake hallway will changelevel to the singleplayer campaign portal which the o...

    Fresh from the Best of Map Showcase list it's a map that was considered top notch 24 years ago. A Black Mesa flavored walkthrough map, does it stand up to modern scrutiny? SCMapDB page Author: The-Real-Game Date of release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Why (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 30, 2026 | 2622 characters      Playing old BOMS maps is so funny, it's 24 years later and there are almost multiple thousands of maps to play. It's an interesting glimpse into what the mapping scene was like way at the very beginning.      The map is mostly stock textures and models in a facility of some sort that may or may not be Black Mesa. The map is competently done for the most part with some areas looking rough or weird. The kitchen was especially bad because the proportions for the counters and dishes were way off. In the oversized counter were big pieces of meat rotating in a rotisserie and it looks really good, it's an ...

    Any map author has to start somewhere, and this is it. The author's first map certainly feels like a first map. SCMapDB page Author: Werd0z Date of release: 2006 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Werd0z (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 30, 2026 | 3510 characters      This is the author's first map and this person clearly did not know what they were doing. This map has everything like the walls in the first room not reaching the ceiling, bad proportions, misaligned textures, misaligned water, and plenty of z-fighting. It's a learning experience for the author and not really something I could ever recommend for casual play.      Despite all the shortcomings there are some nice things in the map. It had a nice progression of weapons from mp5 to shotgun, grenades, revolver, and finally the rpg, plus some HEV at spawn. Combat is largely sporatic enemies clustered together in rooms. There is one area where players are dumped out i...

      Welcome to a Fire Temple inspired by the Legend of Zelda. There's lots of platforming here along with a maze, traps, secrets, and sometimes monsters.  SCMapDB page Author: Dr.Abc Date of release: 2014 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Fire Temple (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 25, 2026 | 4365 characters      The first thing I notice about this map is that there is Zelda music and sound effects, so this is a Legend of Zelda map. It's obvious in hindsight, but I didn't know that going in. There are some signs that have text on them I might have seen in the Zelda games and some weapons have replaced textures on them to more like weapons from Legend of Zelda. There is also Thor's hammer at one point, I don't know what is going on there.      The map is one big unfolding puzzle. We've got lots of platforming over pits of lava, a maze with instant-kill walls, big eyes we have to make blink, buttons to press, and enem...

      This map is supposed to be Halo, it says right in the map description:  You are Master Chief, A Cyborg who recently escaped the planet Halo. Aside from the incredible story this map is indistinguishable from a Black Mesa map. SCMapDB page Author: Matt *e**rm**er Date of release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Halo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 24, 2026 | 2483 characters      So this is supposed to be a Halo map. I guess it can kind of look like Halo if you squint at the first room which is a Half-Life office with a window into space. Then from the supposed cockpit we travel forward, in front of the cockpit into more ship. At one point there is a train track tunnel with barriers blocking our way. There is also a tent. I mean if somebody is working with limited resources to make a conversion like turning Half-Life into Halo I don't expect perfection but this is nonsense. The ship makes no sense, just random Half-L...

      Run around a Doom Themed complex, fight enemies, and collect weapons. Find the keys to open the path forward. Don't get lost! Allegedly made in a week. SCMapDB page Author: Aurora Date of release: 2014 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Dread (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 24, 2026 | 3948 characters      This map feels like a doom multiplayer map given singleplayer features. This map is a conglomeration of hallways with monster spawners and smatterings of weapons off in the corners.      I spent a lot of time lost in this map, the map description says 'multiple paths' and I can attest to that. Ultimately the whole map is finding two keys, unlocking the boss arena, and then killing the boss. Finding the first key was easy enough but then I spent a lot of time walking in circles trying to figure out where to go next. My teammate didn't have this problem so whenever we died I would just follow. But then we died trying t...

      Gotta go fast, again! Another set of six areas players have to clear before dealing with the evil Dr. Eggman. This was merged with the first map by the community but is being reviewed separately.  SCMapDB page Author: iLLuSioN Date of release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 9, 2026 | 2002 characters      This map is very similar to the first one, with a central hub and some Sonic themed courses accessed by jumping through pictures on the wall. Right off the bat a big difference I see is a lot more details added. The second level is a burning version of the first, its really cool.      This map is extremely similar to the first map, with lots of platforming and special gimmicks per level. The is music for each stage and that's a very welcome addition. I remember thinking the lack of music beyond one short song was strange in the first map. So while it m...

      Gotta go fast! Play through six stages inspired by the blue blur and find secret emeralds to defeat Dr. Eggman. Followed by a sequel that was merged into one map by the community. SCMapDB page Author: iLLuSioN Date of release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Sonic the Hedgehog (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 9, 2026 | 2602 characters      When the map starts my teammate and I are in a room with a button that when pressed starts the map. We're dropped into a hallway that accelerates us towards the classic big red springs which bounce us straight up into the ceiling where we bounce back into the acceleration hallway. When we free ourselves we end up in a room with a big water feature and beyond are the entrances to the six different challenges. These springs aren't always janky, but the majority of the map relies on precision jumping and these big springs.      The challenges open up one at a time and within eac...

      Here's a novel concept, stealth in Sven Co-op. Players are supposed to reach the end of the map without being seen. There isn't really a penalty for being seen. SCMapDB page Author: IceShaft Date of release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Infiltration (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 9, 2026 | 1264 characters      The map description says that we have to try to sneak to the exit and not be seen. When the map started and the message of the day popped up I was getting shot. So I don't know how anybody can be reasonably expected to play this map the 'correct' way.      There is a crossbow at spawn and I use it to blow up some soldiers before running out of ammo and dying. Then I ran through what felt like a straightforward hallways connected to rooms with some enemies in them. The map is really blocky and has bad proportions. Although I will say I did like the desks clearly built for giants but not so much the st...

      Hyrule is once again under attack by the evil Ganon! Fight classic Legend of Zelda and Half-Life enemies and find crystals in dungeons to beat Ganon and save the land once again! SCMapDB page Author: IceShaft Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Legend of Zelda (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 3, 2026 | 5160 characters      It's the Legend of Zelda in Sven Co-op! Explore such fabulous locales as Hyrule castle! A big serpent head I assume to be Jabu-Jabu! A mountain I will call Dodongo mountain! A Lost Forest made out of boxes! FInally, a trapped castle with what I am going to generously call Gannondorf!      One thing you may notice from the screenshots on the map page is that this map looks kind of bad. I think the little village we start off in looks decent but much of the brushwork is overly blocky and there are a lot of opportunities to climb up ledges and access places that don't look like they...

      This map is a scrap, an experiment, a proof of concept. And boy howdy does it prove the concept, as long as that concept is 'make a model of the solar system'. Nothing much else in the map. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Keen's Solar System (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 3, 2026 | 1763 characters      The map description says its a proof of concept and not really a playable experience. Well I decided to give it a whirl anyway with zero expectations and I was impressed.      Players start in a slanted room with an intangible floor at one end and players take fall damage when going to the next room. But that's a gameplay critique and this map is a proof of concept, so lets look at the main attraction. This map has a massive solar system revolving around a dark room, the planets are made of sprites and are two dimensional but it still looks really good. There is a larg...

      Not to be confused with THE Hotel, this map is an unfinished project meant to be a Sven Co-op map and a Half-Life: Deathmatch map. The map page seems to suggest it is almost finished but who knows. SCMapDB page Author: DennisG50 Date of release: 2005 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Hotel (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 3, 2026 | 2651 characters      No part of this map reminds me of a hotel. There are individual rooms with a couch and table in each one, but the grey textures and industrial doors operated by buttons evokes the idea of a prison. There are two maps included here and one is a deathmatch version of the map, except deathmatch is not enabled so it is a cooperative exploration of an arena.      The map has this abstract fever dream layout. In the regular(?) version of the map players start off in cells, I mean hotel rooms, and each one has a weapon and some ammo and a couple even have HEV batteries. One of...